Marina Abramovic - solo exhibition

Press Release

Marina Abramovic
May 10 - July 6, 2003
Opening: May 9, 5:00 - 7:00 p.m.

The Netherlands Media Art Institute, Montevideo/Time Based Arts, in cooperation with the World Wide Video Festival, is organizing a solo exhibition of Marina Abramovic. In addition to a number of new works, a retrospective of her previous work will also be presented.

Since the beginning of her career in Belgrade in the early 1970s, Marina Abramovic has been active in performance art as a visual art form. Her body is both her subject and her medium. To investigate her physical and mental limits she undergoes extreme pain, exhaustion, danger and emotional and spiritual transformations. For Abramovic performance means a direct exchange of energy with her audience. She seeks to initiate this exchange in as personal a manner as possible. With her 'Transitory Objects' Abramovic tries to actively involve her audience in her performances. 'People only change through their own experience.' Since 1976 Abramovic has used video to catch the transitory character of her work. For her, her performances, installations and videos are objects of reflection in which people can recognize themselves.

During the exhibition in the Netherlands Media Art Institute - the gallery where Abramovic has worked on her artworks since her arrival in The Netherlands - both old and new work will be presented. The 'Performance Anthology Marina-Ulay' (1976-1987) will show a liberal selection of never-before-shown recordings of performances by Marina and Ulay. In many of her performances Abramovic used her head as her starting point. Sixteen of these performances are now being presented in The Netherlands for the first time in 'Portrait Gallery' (1975-2003). In 'Mambo' (2003 version) Abramovic invites the visitor to dance the mambo with her on a special magnetic floor. Inspiration and tranquillity are to be found in the installation 'At the Waterfall' (2003): 104 heads of Tibetan monks and nuns will form a waterfall of sound and image with their songs and portraits. In 'Roadshow' (2003) Abramovic offers an image of herself, which means being continually under way, the encounter with new people and ideas. The eight-hour-long installation is a biography of the life of Abramovic and moreover reveals the importance of a nomadic life for the work of Marina Abramovic.

For more information and visual material: Marieke Istha (Communications) tel. +31 (0)20 623 7101, fax +31 (0)20 624 4423, e-mail [email protected]
Gallery open Tuesday-Saturday, 1:00 - 6:00 p.m. Entrance: Euro 2,50 / 1,50

>50% Beeld
In her performance art Marina Abramovic makes a distinction between her Private Body and Public Body. In the >50% Beeld evening Marina Abramovic will personally throw light on these two different approaches.

The World Wide Video Festival takes place from May 8 to 25 in the PTA, Amsterdam.
For more information: www.wwvf.nl.


Marieke Istha
Communication

Netherlands Media Art Institute
Montevideo/Time Based Arts
Keizersgracht 264
1016 EV Amsterdam
The netherlands
T 020 6237101
F 020 6244423
[email protected]
www.montevideo.nl